3G Frostproof, 11-23-19

Open Division

• Open Edge in .40SW using 155gr BB RN loads
• 18″ NFSC – 18″ New Frontier Side Charging upper on the M&P lower with JP trigger and SCSS, Strike Eagle 1-8, offset mini-dot, Rolling Thunder comp, SCSS, Armaspec magwell, Federal 55gr and a mix of Frontier and PPU 69gr ammo.
• DA Vepr 12 – Venom dot, Remington Game (1290fps) and Fiocchi reduced recoil slugs (1300fps).

Stage 1

• Starts great, then right before the last clay. it fails to go into battery, so I shove it closed.
• On the way to the slug shot, reload with slug topped mag then burn the bird in the chamber. FTF. Had to unseat to clear.
• Rifle goes relatively well, few extras.
• Miss on the clay on the path (I look at it as I run past and over it).
• 18th out of 25.

Stage 2

• Rifle is good to start, but mike on the first I engage as I approach on the right side.
• SG OPTIC OFF! Didn’t make ready. Ugh. Clays break, thankfully, but steel is by luck. Tried to push it, for more misses.
• Aside from above, now it fails to go into battery more often.
• Dump it to finish off with pistol.
• 19th

Stage 3

• Rifle start is good and clean this time.
• With the SG reliability in question, and given the low port, I decide to just pistol it. No transition, and it was close enough, I reasoned.
• Trouble on the first few steel and continued as I go. This is the same problem I had at Manatee prior to Benning using the PB loads. Will need to verify zero ASAP.
• 23rd

Stage 4

• Rifle is good to start, 1 for 1. Shot it seated on the tire, left elbow on Optic set to 2x.
• Back to the SG and now it’s a single shot. Remington Game Loads, 1290fps, getting caught on the feed ramp and stopping. A returned shell has a mangled tip where it caught and deformed.
• It usually cleared up at the 15 mark, but not this time; it cleared up at around 12 or 11. Reload with the 12 rounder is thankfully malfunction free.
• Brightside is shots are 1 for 1 and 3 for the spinner.
• 16th

Stage 5

Forgot to stop the camera recording on Stage 4. On getting ready for 5, the battery was dead.

• Pistol on close paper is fast and quick. Then again, everyone was fast and quick for this.
• LR rifle is again the bright spot, almost 1 for 1.
• 12th – best stage for the day

The Good

• Rifle work, the only bright spot for the day.
• Keeping at it and ending with my best for the last stage.

Needs Improvement

• DAV12 reliability
  • After the match, ran the 20 round mag with loaded with 15 Remington Game Loads (1290fps). Not surprising, jam-o-matic. I borrow 15 rounds of Fiocchi Shooting Dynamics loads (1200fps) and IT RUNS FLAWLESSLY. Hopefully this is the beginning of the turn.
• Pistol zero
  • Tested 155gr BB and PB loads, and 165gr Federal Syntech.
  • In order of POI to POA (low to lowest) – BB, Syntech, PB
  • 15 yards
    • BB – red
    • Syntech – green
    • PB – blue
      
  • 25 yards
    • BB
      
    • Syntech
      
    • PB
      
  • Will fix asap and adjust up.

Finished 18th out of 25 and 5th out of 9 in Open.

USPSA, WAC, 11-22-19 (PCC)

PCC Division

• ZRTS-JP 9mm PCC
  • Lower: ZRTS ZR9, JP yellow springs, Taccom short stroke buffer system, MFT Minimalist stock
  • Upper: JP BCG, JP HG, JP brake, Anderson receiver, KVP barrel
  • Meopta 1-4 primary, Bushnell TRS-25 offset
  • Federal Syntech 130gr PCC ammo
  • ETS 40 round mag

Replaced the MOE SL stock with the MFT Minimalist on a tip I saw on social media that this stock resulted in softer recoil.

Stage 2

• Good splits, except through the middle port.
• Mike on the swinger.
• 8th out of 51

Stage 3

• Keeping up the splits.
• Started great on the first 2 poppers, then hurried through the last. Also shot out of sequence.
• 12th

Stage 4

• 1 extra on the array.
• Good splits again.
• 5th

Stage 5

• Fun, quick stage.
• 3rd

The Good

• Nice splits throughout – now to get that to the pistol.
• Looks like the Federal 130s are good, allowing for quick splits.
• Stage 1 – good way to end, despite the start with the mike.
• No comparison available, at least the Minimalist stock didn’t seem to make recoil worse. From video from the HSC match, splits seem about the same. Will need to do a side by side test sometime. For now, the stock stays.

Needs Improvement

• Steel 1 for 1
• Snappier movement, then rock steady; specially when shouldering.

Finished 5th out of 51 and 1st out of 7 in PCC.

2019 Fort Benning Multigun Challenge, Nov. 15-17, 2019

Open Division

• G34 CO – Fastfire 3, 12.5# recoil spring, tungsten guiderod, ETS mags, 124gr Federal Syntech, and mix of 124gr BB and BlB RN loads
• 18″ NFSC – 18″ New Frontier Side Charging upper on the M&P lower with JP trigger and SCSS, Strike Eagle 1-8, offset mini-dot, JP Eliminator, SCSS, Armaspec magwell, Federal and Norma 55gr and PPU 69gr ammo
• DA Vepr 12 – Venom dot, Remington Game (1290fps) and Fiocchi reduced recoil slugs (1300fps).

DAY 1

Stage 9 – Parks Range

• Rifle set to 8x, dual mag setup with 55gr on the right mag topped off with 10 69gr, and the left all 69gr ammo. One for one.
  • 10 69gr for the 3 MGMs (200-250yds)
  • 55s for the paper down below
• Mag change while moving to the second position. We were warned we couldn’t use our feet to block the lower swing arm, but forward pressure on the resting plate allowed for a more stable position. 5 shots for the 3.
• The sled was easy enough, though I probably could’ve gone quicker through the cooper tunnel. The problem was obviously with the SG not working.
• Hit with the second slug.
• 40th out of 71 Open shooters.

Stage 10

• Bad weather, and I brought 2 pistols for the match. The weather and muddy field conditions makes the choice for me: CO G34. Which, BTW I haven’t shot this pistol in almost a year…
• So I either didn’t seat in the mag right or my grip hit the mag release on the first shot. Too bad the camera didn’t pick up the mag in the mud soup (afterwards, the RO told me he was thinking in his head: “don’t put in, don’t put in…). So I did after a quick shake. At least the plate rack is 1 for 1 (2 shots on the first but it was already hit as I took the 2nd shot). 10 shots for the 2 skinny poppers.
• 2 shots on the first rifle popper, and 1 on the next. Paper is clean.
• 46th

Stage 11

• Shooting on a see-saw. Start on the right with the pistol, blue rectangles and 2 shots for the long blue (takes 3). White/middle section for the white rectangles and long range, red on red. Pistol mag jams up before running out (about 5 or so left in the mag, follower stuck), forcing a reload. Still, not too bad for the pistol.
• First slug misses, then jams on the 3rd, 4th and 5th shots. Oh joy. At least I make up on the 3 slugs with a magful of slugs.
• 38th

Stage 12

• Not my day. In between these stages and I am seriously considering going home. It’s cold, raining, my gear is wet, and I can barely feel my fingers; just miserable. Now just like the pistol on 10, the rifle mag drops after the first shot. Noob day as well, apparently. Shake it off, drive on.
• LR steel needs only 1 makeup.
• Off hand plate rack and the camera cuts out.
• Finish with the rifle and change to pistol. Jams again with the stuck follower. Change mag, drive on.
• SG finally works and timeout sounds as I engage the last clay.
• 38th

DAY 2

Stage 1

• No jams, so that’s an improvement from yesterday. Time spent the night before cleaning mags pays off. Maybe I do this BEFORE the match?
• Now if I can just hit stuff. 62 shots for 32 steel, almost 2 for 1. Used a mix of 124 and 150gr ammo. The gun was zeroed for 124gr, how far off were the 150s? Re-zero when changing ammo.
• 46th

Stage 2

• First time using a D60. I didn’t bring mine, so I borrowed Lee’s. I had to take off the Armaspec magwell as I learned at the RockCastle ProAm that the D60 won’t seat with it. 44 rounds for the stage so even with the 48 round mag, it was tight. Hence the D60.
• First time fully loading one as well, and when I thought it felt full, I stopped. Turns out I only loaded 45; I would’ve had more with the 48. Last shot on the last target wasn’t an alpha either.
• Good splits, and shooting on the move, as well as taking the low port by just folding over.
• 28th (would’ve been 19th without that FTN)

Stage 3

• Holy crap the shotgun runs! 20 shots, and I forgot whether I loaded the mag with 20 or 22. Either way, I was ecstatic it ran with no hiccups.
• Pistol is slow shooting string and weak hand. Need more practice. Duh.
• 41st

Stage 4

• Ending Day 2 on a fun stage. Rifle goes well, good splits.
• Pistol is fine as well. Finally, a good stage.
• 29th

Day 2 is a 180 from the miserable cold and rain of yesterday. The ground was still muddy, but almost unnoticed (planned my runs to avoid or miminmize). Glad I stuck with it.

Day 3

Stage 5

• Start with the 3 clays then the 2 slugs. Mag was loaded with 3 clays and the rest slugs. Slugs 1 for 1.
• Reload on the way up with bird. All 1 for 1, no malfs. Both 12 rounders work.
• The wall. I practiced this with no problems. I also practiced this with no rifle or belt. Just glad I went over.
• Clean rifle.
• 33rd

Stage 6

• The wobbly bridge and all shotgun. Start with the 22 rounder, all bird.
• Reload on the bridge with the 20 rounder loaded with only 15, topped off with 2 slugs. Hit with 1 slug.
• Hit both flyers.
• Final reload for the last array through the port.
• And the Vepr runs again!
• 24th

Stage 7

• SG start, 22 round mag loaded with 20.
• Throw the ammo can into the tube and it stops halfway. I start crawling and it just kills my knees. Getting out is another issue as I struggle to get out. The topper is loading the mag as it takes forever.
• One (gaming) shot on the spinner to take the penalty and a quick finish.
• 33rd

Stage 8

• 70yd plate rack while standing on a 2×4 (or whatever). Had to leave a few standing to avoid timing out.
• Almost forgot that last plate. Actually, I did, then picked up the vibes from the peanut gallery.
• 37th

The Good

• Was there any? Rifle to start. 69gr PPU FTW. Good splits.
• How the Vepr slowly got better. And how it ran and hit when it did.
• Sticking with it

Needs Improvement

• Where to start? Get the Vepr running, should be the priority.
• Zero the pistol for the ammo I’ll be using.
• Clean mags regularly, specially those used in blowback guns (PCC).
• Physical ability
  • crawling
  • bending
  • jumping
  • wall scaling
  • flying, etc…

Finished 36th out of 71 in Open.

Many thanks to Fort Benning, The AMU, MWR, match staff and sponsors for hosting this great match! Thanks too to Icarus Shirts, Deep River Customs Inc., DaVinci Machining, The Wyoming Antelope Club, God’a Grip and Gunfighter Gun Oil for supporting Team Icarus Florida.

Special thanks to JP Enterprises for supporting the match, and for the $100 certificate from the prize table!

USPSA, WAC, 11-12-19 (Open)

Open Division

• Open Edge in .40SW using 155gr PB FN loads
• Safariland ELS belt system

After some accuracy issues which I hope was associated with the reduced loads (6.5gr), I plan to use up all the lower powered ammo this evening. Also, relapsing with the cough. Wasn’t feeling well today but need the practice for Benning for the weekend,

Also, running with only foam inside-ear protection. Without muffs, my make ready procedure is quicker and simpler.

Stage 1

• Slow splits, needs speeding up.
• No-shoot, but perf hit.
• 14th out of 49

Stage 2

• Splits still the same.
• Mike on the upside down no-shoot.
• 17th

Stage 3

• Ah, there are the good splits.
• On the move for the middle array.
• M-NS on the left/;ast no-shoot.
• 23rd

Stage 4

• Slow splits again, but further targets to start, and shooting on the move.
• Finally, a clean run!
• 15th

The Good

• Stage 4
  • shooting on the move
  • stage plan
  • steel 1 for 1

Needs Improvement

• Steel 1 for 1
• Splits

Finished 17th out of 49 and 5th out of 5 in Open.

3G Manatee, 11-9-19 and USPSA HSC (PCC), 11-10-19

3G Manatee, 11-9-19

Open Division

• Open Edge in .40SW using 155gr PB FN loads (mix of 6.5gr and 7.0gr Power Pistol)
• 18″ NFSC – 18″ New Frontier Side Charging upper on the M&P lower with JP trigger and SCSS, Strike Eagle 1-8, offset mini-dot, Rolling Thunder comp, Armaspec magwell, Federal 55gr and PPU 69gr ammo.
• DA Vepr 12 – Venom dot, DA 12 and 20 round, and self-built 22 round mag (from Saiga 20 round mag), using Federal 1200 and 1250fps ammo and Fiocchi 1150fps slugs

No video today as I forgot the hatcam.

Stage 1

• From the right side, pistol on short range paper, then run to 3 steel array position, then dump.
• With rifle, 6 steel at around 75-100yds supported from short barricade, then choice of a close box unsupported or run across to a barrel for support. I needed unsupported practice so I chose the prior position.
• 29th out of 53

Stage 2

• Slugs on 2 50-75yd plates. I top a 12 rounder with 3 slugs but only needed 2.
• Using the 1150fps slugs caused an FTE after the first shot, easily cleared.
• Burn the 3rd slug, then popper array with 2 flippers; clean.
• Draw and load pistol while going to the right for 4 paper and plate rack. Too many extras on plate rack.
• Dump then draw pistol for rifle for steel at 100, 175, 300 and 425 from 2 position at the barricade. Few extras but almost 1 for 1.
• 19th

Stage 3

• SG on plates on the right side, some obscured by barrels, then star; dump.
• Run back to the start barrel for rifle on paper scattered throughout. I found 3 positions but was penalized for the 2nd as I was shooting through the buildings. Dump in the same barrel with the SG.
• Pistol on remaining paper, shot from 2 positions.
• 18th

Stage 4

• SG on 5 plates; dump.
• Rifle on paper spread out, found 2 positions. Dump in forward barrel.
• Through the forward port: activator, 2 flanking steel, and a swinger. Maybe an extra or 2 but no issues.
• Run back uprange for last position on 4 steel (2 each side). COULD NOT HIT STEEL and dumped the rest of the mag trying to. Reload, and almost 1 for 1. Hopefully it was because the first mag had the 6.5gr loads.
• 32nd

Stage 5

• From the start position: 2 slugs on paper, the 2 steel each side.
• 22 rounder loaded up, topped off with 2 1300fps slugs. FTF on second shot but remedied by shoving the bolt closed.
• Run up to the forward, middle position for the spinner; 2 shots.
• Move to the left box for the right targets, then to the right box for the left.
• 20 steel plus the spinner = 1 for 1 (2 for the spinner)
• 8th

The Good

• Pistol up close
• Rifle LR is good.
• Challenging myself for rifle offhand.
• DA Vepr works! (Stage 5)
• LR Slugs are good.

Needs Improvement

• Pistol zero with PB loads (6.5 vs 7.0 loads?)
• SG load management (use of 1200. 1250 and 1300fps loads)
• Splits (all 3)

Finished 20th out of 53 and 8th out of 23 in Open.

 

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USPSA HSC (PCC), 11-10-19

PCC Division

• ZRTS-JP 9mm PCC
  • Lower: ZRTS ZR9, JP yellow springs, Taccom short stroke buffer system, Magpul MOE SL stock
  • Upper: JP BCG, JP HG, JP brake, Anderson receiver, KVP barrel
  • Meopta 1-4 primary, Bushbell TRS-25 offset
  • Federal Syntech 150gr ammo
  • First use of ETS 40 round mag

Stage 1

• Clean, 6th out of 52.

Stage 2

• From the second position, I slow down for the no-shoots, but keep the pace as I transition out. I notice and adjust and speed up again.
• 3rd

Stage 3

• Second up, I didn’t have a solid plan, though I’ve shot this classifier a few times already. There’s some hesitation as I decide which target to engage.
• 11th

Stage 4

• 4th

Stage 5

• Unloaded start and it takes forever.
• 9th

The Good

• Clean match.
• With the Taccom SS buffer, fast splits possible (Stage 2). Need to watch this over and over to see what I can do.
• 150gr Syntech is good. Compared with my own 124gr BlB loads, it’s softer.
• ETS 40 round mag flawless. Need 1 more.

Needs Improvement

• After slowing down for certain targets (no-shoots, etc), get back on pace immediately.
• Side charger for faster unloaded starts.

Finished 5th out of 52 and 3rd out of 7 in PCC.

USPSA, TBSPC/Ruskin, 11-3-19 (Open)

Open Division

• Open Edge in .40SW using 155gr PB FN loads
• Safariland ELS belt system

The bug my aunt and cousin had while in Europe finally got me last Friday after it also got my Mom earlier that week of our return. I thought I’d dodged it but the lack of OJ every morning (which I had everyday on tour) on my return opened up a gap in my defenses. I skipped shooting for last weekend, as well as this week, but felt good enough for first Sunday USPSA at Gun Craft (Ruskin).

Loaded up some 155 PB FNs, but upped the powder to 6.9/7.0gr of Power Pistol from 6.5. Same as the BB RN loads (the original).

Stage 3 – Classifier (Diamond Cutter 09-02)

• No shoot tagged, but perf hit, so no mike.
• 24th out of 45

Stage 4

• More no-shoots; rust is showing.
• 16th

Stage 5

• Steel 1 for 1.
• Finally a clean run! 10th

Stage 1

• First target, activator and maxtrap on the move.
• Clean again, but low (C-D) hits; 14th.

Stage 2

• Shooting on the move: on retreat on last targets, then on approach on the next.
• Right array all on the move.
• Steel almost 1 for 1 (1 extra).
• Good, clean end; 7th.

The Good

• Brushed off shaky start.
• Kept on improving from beginning to end.
• Stage 7, best stage, last stage.
• Steel almost 1 for 1.
• No malfunctions.
• Recovering from the flu to get back at it again.

Needs Improvement

• Steel 1 for 1
• Splits
• PB FNs better now with more powder/power?

Finished 9th out of 45 and 5th out of 10 in Open.